The ladies masters athletes from the SMTFA competing at the Flash Athletic Meet in Oct at the Bishan Stadium.

12/31/2014

Resurrection of the Holy Trinity of 3 wise doctors

‘The Sunday Times in a sarcastic editorial on 28th November 1954 on the launch said,

“There was a fair crowd at the Victoria Memorial Hall, though fewer than
at a performance of an absurd film about a Persian Princess and a
shifty barber… at which place a more intelligent dialogue could be heard
I am unable to say.”

The Straits Times thought the party was a non-starter but they were
wrong. By 1959 the PAP had become a major player, thanks to the
conviction of the ordinary people. As expected of a new party made up of
diverse opinions, it did not take long for the internal squabble to
start….’

The above paragraphs came from an article by Dr Wong Wee Nam, titled
‘History is bunk’ in the TRE, sought to give history another perspective
by a fellow doctor to do justice to three fellow doctors who are living
martyrs to yesterday’s brutal politics of survival. Except for Dr Lim
Hock Siew, Dr Poh Soo Kai and Dr Chia Thye Poh are still with us, are
living testimonies for those who need to hear from the ‘horse’s mouth.
It started in 1954 as mentioned in the above paragraph by Wong Wee Nam,
who had seen and lived with the events of the time. There was an
official version reported as the official truth and the official history
of Singapore’s formative years. There are other versions, like Tan Pin
Pin’s movie and now Wong Wee Nam’s testimony of what it really happened.

Though there are many versions, very few are allowed to be read by this
‘free and democratic’ state of highly educated citizenry when the
paternalistic govt is still acting like a protective father fearing that
the naïve little children or teenagers could be misguided by reading
different versions of the truth. In a city that 55 years old are deemed
irresponsible and cannot be trusted with their life savings, it is a
necessary evil to keep the people from reading the wrong stuff and
thinking funny with different truths of their history. The official
version is the safest document to read and to believe in. Period.

Wong Wee Nam also touched on the innocents like Dr Ang Wee Chai, the
wife of the late Francis Khoo, who is still banned from returning home except with
special approvals. She must still be seen as a threat to national
security or a dangerous person that would wreak havoc to the country on
her return, like a few others. Wong Wee Nam is calling for a national
reconciliation, a healing of the wounds, a kind of national amnesty, for
the return of our sons and daughters banished to foreign shores for
political crimes. Would his call be heeded by a city of teenagers that
never grow up or a bunch of irresponsible adults that cannot be trusted
when they are past 55 years of age?

Would anyone believe in burying the hatchet to live in peace, to go in
peace and to rest in peace so that a national reconciliation can take
place? A few words came to my mind, inclusive society, compassion,
kindness, we are a family, a nation of people. 2 days to go before the
dawn of a new year. Not much time left for it to happen, not much time
for a graceful closure.

All these doctors also elites lah. They also wanna get rich one except youknowlah smarter than them. How many of those elites really want to help the poor ordinary people in sg? anyway, Youknowlah is not famous for his compassion and kindness but his unscrupulousness. All politicians are evil some are more evil than others.

Everyone has entitlement mentality, some have more than others. Those ministers sit around all day doing nothing but screw ordinary people, colluding with big business and helping themselves to people monies have the worst kind of entitlement mentality. No need to be genius to figure who they are.

No one is asking the government to provide anything. Not at all. All they are asking for is a very basic term where a man can put in eight hours of hard and honest work and still put food on the table for his loved ones.

If any political outfit cannot even provision that sort of business environment, then they should just advise people to leave for greener pastures or better still walk the talk - take a five year sabbatical and let's see whether those millionaire policy makers can hack a decent living out there in the globalized world. Go do us all the courtesy of a George Yeo special and show us all that businesses are willing to put their money where their mouth is. Otherwise don't talk so much about entitlement mentality, that is a term only a self made man can use with any modicum of credibility.

>> How many of those elites really want to help the poor ordinary people in sg? anyway,

From the get go, way back in the early 1960's, the group of men who formed modern Singapore were all the "elites" of the day: educated in the best schools, overseas tertiary eduction, stable middle/ upper middle class families.

Singapore's "independence" wasn't won by a revolution of illiterate Lorong Chuan pig farmers and Lorong Fatimah squatters lah. The entire political history of Singapore, and a definite contributing factor to Singapore's "success" is due to the fact that from the beginning smart fuckers were running the show.

Wong Wee Nam is asking someone on his dying hours to forgive and forget. This is good for the person and his family as well. Show some grace for others not to hate him so much and may show some grace to his family when the time comes.

Do not let hatred be carried to the next generation to settle the score.

Stupid couldn't even understand this and talked about entitlement mentality. But what to expect from an ass that is stuck in his shit hole and knowing only those shit in the hole and nothing else.

You are asking the silly: Why should a protected and connected squillionaire in Singapore give it up to compete globally just so you can be happy? Don't be daft lah, stick to reality.

>> All they are asking for is a very basic term where a man can put in eight hours of hard and honest work and still put food on the table for his loved ones.

Why do you even need to ASK for that? Just go out there, in the cruel, unfair world and make it happen--like our ancestors did, like many of us still do today. The "hard slog", scared of life, are we? Don't like the "unfairness"? Can't handle "inequality"?

What the fuck is wrong with you? Oh yah, I think it is entitlement mentality ;-)

It is precisely because the world is not is fair that is why we civilized men came out with the idea of government. As only government can smooth out the inequities of the free market thereby deliver the promise of a better tomorrow to the average working man.

If what you say is true - merely asking for a level playing field amounts to an entitlement mentality. Then pray tell what might the role of government actually be?

Do you really believe that tax payers pay out millions to policy makers so that they can twiddle their thumbs and babble excuses that 'this or that is not my business!'

If that is the case then you have very little conception what the whole idea of government is premised on.

No forgiveness is needed, none of Those mentioned by Redbean want forgiveness nor are willing to say sorry. They want to be treated as any law abiding citizen.They were friends of communist, so are the Rulers of Sin today and many years back.Lee Kuan Yew visited Mao Zedong nearly three decades ago.

To defend life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (aka your rights as an individual including your private property, and its "peaceful" use) by using agencies like: police, military, law courts, maybe some infrastructure...but definitely NOT welfare---where you have to rob Peter to give to Jane, thus enslaving both Peter and Jane.

Many fuckers still cannot accept the fact that modern Singapore politics are most certainly UNIQUE for a 1st World Cuntree. Single party, dynastic system, a mish mash of "Confucianism meets the internet culture".

No other cuntry is like ours. And there's a lot of "political theory" out there to argue that no way will this shit work in Singapore.

But it does. So damn well, that other cuntries want to copy it...and political-science professors all over are scratching their collective numb-skulls trying to falsify fucking clear-as-day-cold-hard EVIDENCE that Singapore not only works, but works damn fucking well.

Do aberrations occur now and then? Of course---there'll always be Black Swan events---train breakdown, flooding, drunk Indians fighting in Serangoon, One-legged terrorist suspect escaping hippity-hopping his way to freedom...sure, shit will happen. But all in all, you know you can essentially trust the infrastructure and social institutions long established and proven to work lah.

At the end of the day, Singapore is a damn easy place to live in and enjoy yourself---despite the "abnormalities" and less than text-book perfect political system.

And what do you think is the common denominator that unites the function of the police, military,mall courts et all?

It is simply to uphold the notion of the level playing field.

So if we can all buy into that idea these functionalities are designed or uphold the idea of fairness, equity along with the level playing field. WHY then shouldn't that same stream of ethos apply to the idea of the work environment?

As for welfare. I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I certainly did not bring it up. If you scroll up and read carefully what I wrote - I specifically used the term - 'working man' which means salaried person.

Now I insist. One more time please. How does asking for the idea of a level playing field in the labor marker equate to the idea of the entitlement mentality?

>> How does asking for the idea of a level playing field in the labor marker equate to the idea of the entitlement mentality?

It rewards uncompetitive people. Competition is rarely "fair", and because it isn't it FORCES PEOPLE to become more creative, more innovative, etc to "outcompete" their rivals.

Of course, not everyone likes this, because there are real losses to be borne individually.

But the fact remains: we live in a world where some is willing to do the job faster, cheaper and in many instances BETTER than you.

Like I said. The entitled-minded folks hate this FACT OF PRESENT REALITY with a vengeance...notice the violent protests at every G20 G-whatever/ WTO meeting, and the Occupy Movement (epic fail) .

>> the common denominator that unites the function of the police, military,mall courts et all?

It is simply to uphold the notion of the level playing field.

WOW, you're stretching the truth a bit there. My explanation is to uphold law and order...but if you're going to argue that upholding the rule of law is the same as "levelling the field"...then I have nothing to respond. You win. ;-)

'No other cuntry is like ours. And there's a lot of "political theory" out there to argue that no way will this shit work in Singapore.

But it does. So damn well, that other cuntries want to copy it...and political-science professors all over are scratching their collective numb-skulls trying to falsify fucking clear-as-day-cold-hard EVIDENCE that Singapore not only works, but works damn fucking well.'

You are talking 100% shit again! Truth is. There exist other ways to grow the wealth of a nation besides mindlessly and recklessly growing the economy on the cheap by resorting to unmitigated immigration.

Stuttgart has only 0.6 million and they seem to be doing a good job churning out Mercedes - do you see them bringing train loads of immigrants to hollow out the native core competencies?

Munich with a population of about 1.2 million is home to BMW, ditto again.

Sweden with a population of about 0.7 million is home to Ikea, Stromberg, Saab. Ditto. And incidentally has the highest patent per capita.

Zurich with a population of about 0.4 million is the financial capital of the EU. They also do brisk business selling boutique chocolates and quaint cuckoo clocks. Ditto.

So there you go.

As for head of states saying that they want to emulate singapore....that's just polite diplomatic parlance. After all what do you think India or China (both nations have home grown nuclear and aerospace industries) can learn from Singapore! You have to be kidding me.

One more time please - how does merely asking for a level playing field equate to the idea of an entitlement mentality.

Hi Darkness, my apologies for not wanting to join in the discussion with a deluded mind that is so full of himself. To him, all Singaporeans should behave like prostitutes to be screwed by anyone, laissez faire.

Only stateless people should behave like prostitutes. Singapore belongs to the Singaporeans and any govt that does not put the interests of the Singaporeans as top priority must be voted out at the earliest opportunity.

And whether a govt is for or against the citizens, it is for the citizens to judge and decide. The people decides, not what the govt said. If the idiots think otherwise, their time is up.

This old man is emo lately, maybe in menopause, but unsure. Maybe envy the Carefree, Chaotic and Happy Vietnamese too much after spending eight days there. Had been through Vietnam from South to North and vice versa few times.

Just like to say all dynasty works and all dynasty falls, however, if a dynasty lasts under a century and worse, shorter, it shall be very unfortunate.

Me does not wish to see Sin follows the Footsteps of Philippines under Marcos, Taiwan under Chen Sui Bian or Libya under Gaddafi, not even Indonesia under Suharto aka Pak Suharto, in my life time. I am not too sure if we are not living the Same Ways as Citizens of those Countries did during the Rules of those Despots Mentioned.

As a regular kaypoh here, me has got to read the many erudite readings of many fellow countrymen. In many ways, they upset me most of the time. It is no consolation to witness the huge fragmentations existing amongst the Citizenry and within the Political Parties.

To make it short, I am VERY PESSIMISTIC about the Future of our youngs. No matter how I look at it, ONLY THE ELITES STAND TO ENJOY THE ADVANTAGE OF LIVING IN SIN.

If you eventually want true democracy, then you need chaos and fragmentation. Democracy, the real type, is messy, loud and boisterous.

IMO, Singapore is not yet ready for this kind of "unfettered" political process.

@Darkness: The way Singapore grows its economy--even with the flaws in the various processes---works damn well.

You compare Germany to Singapore in terms of economic growth. I'll grant you that there are universal principles of economics which work. However if you don't consider CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, then you are just massaging the facts in a vain attempt to bolster your already shaky position.

By definition if you ask the govt to provide a level playing field to protect you from "unfair" competition, then you are acting because you think you are entitled to protection from people who are in some ways "better than you". So yeah, it's entitlement mentality all the way there.

Actually I've already answered the question, the above was just clarification. To save me time, please google "libertarian" "laiissez faire" "free market" "anarcho capitalist" --- that will give you a gist of where I'm coming from, and save me the effort of having to explain to you my opinions as if you were 5 years old and mentally handicapped.

'you think you are entitled to protection from people who are in some ways "better than you". So yeah, it's entitlement mentality all the way there.'

You are wrong again! If natives were really competing on a level playing field with foreign 'talents' just on skill alone then it's fair game to me and perhaps everyone else.

And there would be nothing really to quibble about.

But the issue is simply this - FOREIGNERS DONT HAVE THE FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS IN WORLDS MOST EXPENSIVE CITY! NATIVES DO!

That simply means foreigners are willing to accept a lower wage. Natives however cannot even if their level of competence are equally matched.

So I really don't see how your argument applies when you use the term 'protection' and 'entitlement mentality.'

The way I see it. The government of the day is setting impossible standards for natives to gainfully turn the wheel of life.

So perhaps you can tell me where does competencies and skills sets even feature in this whole equation? As you can see along with everyone who has a brain and reading this - it doesn't. It just boils down to one question - who is willing to accept a lower wage.

Now one more time please how does asking for a level playing field in the labor marker equate to the idea of the entitlement mentality?

'You compare Germany to Singapore in terms of economic growth. I'll grant you that there are universal principles of economics which work. However if you don't consider CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, then you are just massaging the facts in a vain attempt to bolster your already shaky position.'

Give a man enough rope and he will certainly hang himself. You be careful here my friend. I speak fluent German. You make a mountain out of the molehill of CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. If memory serves. I recall Kuan Yew himself once proclaimed like the Aga Khan Singapore has NO culture. So what are you really forwarding here?

Perhaps what you mean to say is in the case of Germany the policy makers recognize the strategic importance of nurturing their native pool of core competencies; while the custodians of power in Singapore believe this aspect of carving competitive advantage can easily be sourced from any where jn the world by just a simple sandbox plug and play childlike plan - wonder no more why both Chuan Jin and Tharman have to go with their begging bowls to ask the banking community to find a way to grow native talent in the banking industry. Truth be known, before the unmitigated influx of foreigners into the banking industry, singapore already had a solid core of middle and upper managers in the banking industry, some of the native talents were so highly skilled they even had the ability to synthesize innovative banking instruments. Today this core is gone along with the whole master and apprentice hegemony that makes possible the idea of natives perpetuating the banking industry under their own terms. So there you have it.

Now I wonder if what you said concerning the skill sets and better man winning the job is really true - then why did both Chuan Jin and Tharman have to have a sit in with the banking community?

You go answer that yourself.

Now one more time please if you will - what does asking for a level playing field in the labor market have anything to do with the entitlement mentality?

The happenings in the Ang Mo Kio Town Council are outrageous. I am not going to elaborate as the details are everywhere. The similarities be...

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As owner of this blog, I bear no responsibility to what other contributors/bloggers may post. I encourage all to speak freely without indulging in libel or defamatory content. Anyone who feels offended by any posting can email me and I will remove the offending article if appropriate. Contact me at redbeansg@yahoo.com